Printer retraction settings based on printer rather than profile / material?

[artv 0]

Hi

 

I'm setting up an Ender 3 S1 Pro which I've based off the Ender 3 Pro. I know I can use materials and profiles to set the retraction to say 0.8mm but is there a way to have the printer default be 0.8mm? So I don't have do this on a material / profile basis? In Creality Slicer this defaults to 0.8mm but I can't get the same in Cura - same with minimum extrusion distance window.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[GregValiant 1,351]

You would need to add overrides to your definition file.  The settings are:

{retraction_amount}

{retraction_extrusion_window}

If you open the Ender 3 Pro definition file in Notepad you can check the overrides section and add your own.

[artv 0]

Thanks that's great. My definition folder is empty - I have files in definition_changes is that what you mean? But in here are loads of settings files - it's not obvious which one to edit? And how do I add these configuration lines exactly?

Thanks!

[GregValiant 1,351]

Yeah, it's in a lot of places and some files override others depending on the load order (which I'm not sure of).

You can make adjustments to particular settings within Cura and then select the "current profile".  A dropdown list will appear.  At the bottom is an option "Update Profile with Current Settings/Overrides".  That will make changes to the defaults.  I think that's the easiest way to do it but if you have a lot of profiles it can take a bit of time.

 

 I'm on Windows and with my own "Trailers PLA 75" profile active then doing the above will make changes to a file in:

"C:\Users\Home\AppData\Roaming\cura\5.0\quality_changes"

and in my case the file is named:

"creality_base_extruder_0_%2315_trailers_pla_75.inst.cfg"

Under [Values] there will be lines (or you will add lines):

retraction_amount = 5.5
retraction_combing_max_distance = 5
retraction_extra_prime_amount = 0
retraction_extrusion_window = 5.0

You can make changes there and when you use that profile they will be the defaults until you make changes and then save them to the profile.

 

The actual printer definition file that Cura uses is in "C:\Program Files\Ultimaker Cura 5.0.0\share\cura\resources\definitions" and that is the main file where you would add your overrides.  But I think that one loads before the "Settings Profile".

 

[artv 0]

Great thanks will give this a go!

[kylemallory 0]

A bit later, but I ran across this question because my printer (which is has a direct extruder, not a boden) has a 0.6 retraction distance, and the default Cura retraction is 6.5mm.  Every time I would switch to one of the default profiles and reset my settings, if I forgot to change the retraction, it would freeze up my extruder by pulling filament too far back into the cold-side of the extruder.  There is not a way to set this inside the Cura UI on a global, printer, or extruder specific way.  Its actually very annoying.  This should be one of the settings in the Extruder settings in the printer configuration.

 

@GregValiant's response was very helpful, as a starting point, but ultimately led me to the following, which actually provides the "Printer Specific" setting that the OP had requested (and which I am after).  Also, his directions were using Windows Paths, and I run Linux.  I had to do a little bit of web-searching to find the Linux places "config" in ~/.config/cura/{version}, but printer, extruder, and quality profiles are all located in ~/.local/share/cura/{version}

 

In any case, for a printer-specific configuration, under the "definition_changes" folder, find the definition file for your Printer.  In my case, my printer is named "RatRig V-Core 3.1", and the filename is "RatRig+V-Core+3.1_settings.inst.cfg".  As @GregValiant instructs, open this file and under the [Values] section, add the necessary retraction sessions as outlined above (with your correct values).

 

Save the file, and restart Cura.  Note that "Current Settings" may not change, but if you reset back to the Profile's "default" settings, those settings should reflect the new values, assuming that they are not overridden in your custom profiles.

 

Personally, I open the entire "~/.local/share/cura/{version}" directory into VS-Code, and search the entire directory structure for the settings of interest, to ensure that I don't have other profiles or configurations which override them.